[balletomane]

By 1914, Greater Winnipeg had grown to 250,000 people, making it the third largest city in Canada. The First World War slowed the city's growth slightly for the next few years, but the city had slightly surpassed 300,000 according to the 1921 census. The winning "greek iconic" design for Winnipeg's new city hall was completed in 1917, making it one of the largest and most beautiful in the nation. The City Beautiful Movement also made its impact in the city, with Memorial Boulevard being transformed into the Winnipeg's smaller equivalent to the National Mall in Washington, DC. Following the war, the city's growth rate picked up again in the 1920's, many politicians and businessman were optimistic about the city's future, envisioning a city of millions by the turn of the century. As such, some of the largest national retailers at the time unveiled plans for new department stores along Portage Avenue. Eaton's proposed a massive, 12 floor, two block long department store on the location of its newly completed Eaton's store. Nearby, the Hudson's Bay Company was proposing an equally massive department store at the corner of Portage Avenue and Memorial Boulevard. The new store was to be topped by a dome that would rival that of the newly completed Legislative Building. Both the new Eaton's Store and HBC Flagship store were completed by the mid-1920's, and in 1929 the Richardson's began construction on its new headquarters at Portage and Main, its spire reaching over 250 feet into the sky. By the time the Great Depression hit, the city's population was approaching the 500,000 mark. The 1930's saw the city's growth rate come to a halt, as with many cities in North America it grew only slightly. Combined with the Great Depression, the "Dust Bowl" years in the 1930's also severely impacted the city's grain industry, and in turn its manufacturing industry. The city's growth once again picked up during the 1940's as the economy recovered, and the post-WW2 baby boom also increased the city's population. However, the city's growth rate lagged behind that of other cities in Canada during these decades as more people flocked to Alberta and it's growing and prosperous oil industry. Still, by 1971 the city's population was closing in on the 1 million mark, but Vancouver had now surpassed Winnipeg, which was bumped to the position of fourth largest city in the country. The 1970's saw many Canadian cities see slower growth rates and Winnipeg was not immune to this, growing at a comparative rate to Montreal during this decade, however the 1980's brought a bit of an uptick in growth. Since then, the Winnipeg CMA has been growing at about 10% per decade and today is closing in on the 1.5 million mark. It's growth rate has still lagged behind those of Calgary and Edmonton, which will both likely surpass the city's population in the next 10 years.

Downtown Winnipeg:
Downtown Winnipeg has declined in population since the 1950's but is on the upswing as of late. The last skyscraper boom occurred in the 1980's, which saw many of the city's current highrises built, however the city only has five buildings that exceed the 500 foot mark. The Exchange District is largely protected and has seen many of its unused and underused buildings transformed into apartments and condos. The South Portage neighborhood is increasingly turning into the city's "financial hub", however despite the recent success of this area, both the Eaton's store and HBC store are underused and combined have over 5 million square feet of vacant space. Union Station on Main Street functions as the hub for all transit and rail service in the city, and is the focal point for the city's light rail system that was largely built in the 1980's.

Other notes:
The city's West End has become a hotbed for recent immigrants and is pumping new life into this inner city district that declined for several decades prior to 2010.
The city's North End is still struggling to reinvent itself as it is plagued by many vacancies and high crime rates, but the city's growing Aboriginal population is beginning to transform the area, albeit slowly.
Winnipeg's urban area covers 700 sq km, including the city itself, and the municipalities of Headingley and East and West St. Paul. The urban area has a population of 1.25 million.